I think what we need to do is score a couple of TD’s early, and shut down the run for a while and then force them to pass. It won’t be easy of course, because it’s seldom easy in the NFL, especially with a healthy LeSean McCoy. The 2nd leading rusher for the Bills is Mike Gillislee, right? Nope! QB Tyrod Taylor is 2nd to McCoy with 520 yards rushing, Gillislee is 3rd with 446 yards. In total though, the Bills have a league high 2290 yards, with carries from Jonathan Williams, Reggie Bush and a few others. The run game has also accounted for an impressive 27 TD’s. For some perspective, the Dolphins have only 12 TD’s rushing, and Ajayi leads with 7, Damien Williams is 2nd with 3.

So how many total yards rushing in the game? I think it will likely be around 270, I’m thinking BUF gets a little edge on us in the run game, say BUF 145, MIA 125. The thing is, with the way our offense is structured, I think we’ll be more than fine with 125 yards rushing. I think it’s going to be a bend but don’t break performance for us Saturday at Orchard Park. I predicted MIA 23 – BUF 12, and I see 4 FG’s for BUF. That would be pretty damn impressive as far as I’m concerned, as we get ready to face New England at home as we march to the playoffs.

I think we have a very solid passing attack, and can fall back on it some, as long as we get near 100 yards rushing, and we will get that and more (Moore?) I think Matt Moore will do enough through the air, Jarvis Landry, some Devante, and yet another big play from #10 Kenny Stills. I think Sims will also be a factor in the passing game, and of course the run game as a blocker. I think we turn over Tyrod Taylor at least once, maybe twice, and Moore will be INT free for the 2nd game in a row, and that will be the difference.
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from Stanger

Q – Looks like Buffalo is going to be in the thirties, with chance of rain/snow/sleet and some wind. Does this team need to worry about such these days like the past? And does that hurt us “Moore” without Tanny?

stanger

Like I’ve said on the blog many times, we’re BUILT for this kind of weather. Although the J-Train has been running the local lately (too many stops!), the J-Train Express will show up in BUF. Any time you can the ball successfully, you can play in nasty weather. Of course, we’ll need our defense to step up, and they will when they have to in the red zone. BUF will get yardage, not points. It’s not going to be an easy challenge, Buffalo is a tough team, but we’re up to the task. The defensive line is playing fantastic, especially Suh and Wake, and they will continue to terrorize.

As far as Matt Moore, I can understand why you ask, and rightly so. Matt Moore doesn’t have the arm strength Tannehill does, he has a lot more touch, and on deep throws, more arc, and those can get hung up in windy Buffalo. He’s going to have throw those rainbows carefully. If Stills is wide open, if he gets out there early, he can throw those, but if he waits too long, it could be a long day. I think Matt Moore knows what he has to do. He’s very good at getting the ball out early, and I think that’s what he’ll continue to do this Sunday. Still, he’ll have to be careful on out patter where a strong throw is necessary, or it can be picked off. I believe careful he will be. He’ll pick his spots and the big plays will happen. It’s going to be a relatively close game, just a little lower scoring than the 28-25 victory we witnessed at the Fest.
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Just a quick note – This is the most excited I’ve been about this team in close to a decade. I hope they can keep this great run going. I’m not worried what happens if we get to the playoffs. We’re entering uncharted waters right now, and if we somehow do get into the playoffs, I’ll be thrilled. It’s good experience no matter how you look at it. If we get destroyed, it will make the team hungry to do better. If we play great but lose, it will make the team hungry to do better. If we play well and win, we continue on, then this magic season lives on. WIN-WIN-WIN! There really is no bad scenario here. 8 out of 9. Who ever thought this team could reel something that off?

Enjoy this Dolphins fans! This is a great year for our team, and it looks all the world like we have the right Head Coach in Adam Gase. We don’t need a stupid slogan like Feed the Wolf, we just need the right guy, and we have him. Here’s to a long run of great Dolphins football with Adam Gase!

MORE OUTSTANDING ANALYSIS, MIKE!!!! – – You made a brief mention of the importance of a good start for Miami, which I believe is a key issue. Miami has made a habit of getting a slow start, falling behind, and coming on late in the game, which is a sign of improved conditioning over the Sparano/Philbin years. It sure would be nice if our boys did NOT put themselves in a hole in the first half. And it would be equally nice if we did NOT commit any stupid penalties, too!
I’M SURE GASE WANTS this team to show week-to-week improvement. And one way to get better is to combine a fast start with fewer penalties!!! IF, as you suggest, Miami gets off to a quick 14-0 lead, those Batavia Bratwurst Biters will re-discover a basic TRUTH. –And the TRUTH IS THIS: THE “O” IN “BUFFALO” STANDS FOR BUFFALO’S SUPER BOWL WINS!!
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GOOO-O-O-O FINS!!!

Nate Silver got the election way wrong, but still an interesting stat prediction take. Almost makes you think the game against the Bill is important.
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“According to famed statistician Nate Silver’s website FiveThirtyEight, a Dolphins win would give the team a 92% chance of making the playoffs, regardless of whether they win or lose in Week 17 against New England. A loss, however, would drop the Dolphins’ playoff probability to just 28%.”

Like it or not the teams we care about right now other than the Phins are the Raiders and Broncs…..both too to lose. Pats will beat the Jets, but then if KC beats Denver that won’t even matter — so long as we do win.

Thank you Stanger for that post. I couldn’t agree more. It would be GREAT to get some article submissions. It’s not a big deal. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Its not something you need to spend a lot of time on. It’s mostly a starting point for discussion. If you want help with editing or proofing or adding some art/pics I’d be happy to help. Not with BOTW pics. I really don’t think you guys want me picking out women for you. Lol

Thank you Stanger for that post. I couldn’t agree more. It would be GREAT to get some article submissions. It’s not a big deal. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Its not something you need to spend a lot of time on. It’s mostly a starting point for discussion. If you want help with editing or proofing or adding some art/pics I’d be happy to help. Not with BOTW pics. I really don’t think you guys want me picking out women for you. Lol

I would submit an article, and it would probably start out fine, but I would probably go off on some tangents and by the end of my babbling it wouldn’t be about the Dolphins anymore..LOL

Supposedly the Bills are all jacked up to play against Landry because of the hit he put on Aaron Williams. If I know Landry like I think I know him, he’s going to be fired up to play too. He won’t back down from anything, I just hope he keeps himself in check.

Yes Jar-Head Landry usually manages to do something stupid and that shot he put on that dude looked pretty senseless to me.
Now that you brought that up though I sure hope the Bills dont go out of their way to intentionally hurt Landry.
Them playing to hurt Landry+ Us fighting for Playoffs=DOLPHINS WIN!

Nicest place on earth far as I can tell. Believe me not complaining, except for missing the Bills game….and probably the Pats one too unless I can find a sports bar open at like 4AM in the middle of the night there.

I believe I’m right on this: The Dolphins will have one more day’s rest after this Saturday’s game than will New England, who plays on SUNDAY!
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The scheduling man will sure hear about this from Robert Krap & Bill Belicheat!!!

I went to Hawaii
Not for the Holidays but for a U-2 concert in early December
The weather is lovely and swimming in the ocean is a must, the water is as warm as Florida in the Summer time.
We where playing the Patriots that weekend and I was sure I could catch it at the bar downstairs at whatever ungodly hour of the morning it was. No luck BUT OUR SEASON WAS PRETTY CRAPPY anyway 2006 however we actually won that one…
GO PHINS!

Figure if we get flexed up to an afternoon game, I might have a chance to catch while have beers and breakfast somewhere, but then hoping the game is not important enough for that cause we already have a playoff spot in the bank.

Stang
When you get there it will only be several hours later than when you left Ft. Lauderdale so screw the late games and go cruising around the Island
I went straight to the north shore and the Pipeline Masters was going on that weekend, that was sick.
The waves are so big the life guards wont even let any walk along the shore for fear of one crashing down on you and sucking you out to sea

Howie — several hours later after a real long couple of flights. Not even sure which islands we are going too, but even if think Honolulu will be in the mix (wife’s first time)…..can guarantee me and the Mrs. will not show up on any vids as we tackle the Banzai Pipeline. 🙂

Like Ken and I said then — see Rogue one. Seems like you might have overmaxed your son on Star Wars, but you can tell your lovely that it is 85% on Rotten Tomatoes…..impressive for a movie like that actually.

The giants remind of the phins a little bit this year. Both 1st year coaches and both went on a 6 game win streak and lost on the road. The giants are playing philliy on the road tonight to get in the playoffs. A place they haven’t won in a while. We’re doing the same in buffalo. Lets see how it turns out.

This is going to be a tough game, I’d be shocked if it was a cakewalk for us, I think BUF wants to play the spoiler, and I think Ryan wants to at least finish with a winning record to keep his job. I think they’re going to run the ball a lot against us, we just have to stop them.

According to 538, our current playoff chances are 55%, 92% if we beat the Bills and 29% if we lose. And once again they make our game the most important one of the week…..even if they still can;t figure out why.
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1. Miami (9-5) vs. Buffalo (7-7) — 129 total ‘swing’ points

What’s up with Miami? The Dolphins have an average offense and an average defense, and they’ve outscored their opponents this year by a single point (315 to 314). And yet, at 9-5, they’re just a few game outcomes away from the playoffs. If they win in Buffalo, their chances rise to 92 percent; add a Denver loss in Kansas City and they clinch a wild-card spot. If the Dolphins lose this game — and they’re currently 4-point underdogs — their playoff probabilities plummet to 29 percent. No team has a larger potential swing this week.

What you get when you actually respond to on of those auto dials. Have been getting one from the very nice sounding Rachel at card services with my final notice on how to reduce my interest rates. Given she calls twice a week, hit #1 to talk to her.

Me to the guy who answered — “This was my tenth call saying it was the final one……what do I have to do to stop getting calls?”

The obviously Indian or Pakistani guy — “Send me your daughter and let me F her and then we will stop calling. Click.”

Rhino says:
December 22, 2016 at 10:52 pm
Folks, I’m real worried about the Buffalo game. More than any game so far this year.. THIS one shows if our guys are ‘grounded’. Buffalo is 7-7 but they play tough.
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I am as well. This is the type of game late in the season that we typically lose (ala the Baltimore game), and it makes me nervous to not have Pouncey in there. We are going to have to get the running game going again if we are to be successful.

IF SPARANO or PHILBIN were still Miami’s HC, we’d have NO CHANCE in this game. NONE!!
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But, as former football commentator KEITH JACKSON might have said, “WHOA, NELLIE It’s a new era down in the Sunshine State! The new sheriff in South Beach is ADAM GASE, a man who lately has had a habit of getting the MOST out of his players, no matter who the opponent is! —So before you plunk your money down on the 7-7 Bills, remember this: there’s a REASON why Miami is two games ahead of the Bills in the standings. And ONE of those reasons is MIAMI beat BUFFALO a few weeks ago in Steve Ross’s Palace. Now Ralph Wilson Stadium is nobody’s palace. But it does have the exact same field dimensions as Hard Head Stadium. So let’s give these Dolphins a little respect and take the 4 points to boot in this contest. And speaking of “boot,” that’s exactly what Mr. Ryan is going to get from the Bills front office if (or WHEN) he loses again to MIAMI!”
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Y’all enjoy the game, now, Ya’ hear?

HEY HERD!!—-Since we’re both alums of current Conference USA schools, I thought you might like to know that both Louisiana Tech and Old Dominion represented C-USA with wins in today’s minor bowl games. No biggee, but it does show this conference is getting more competitive in these bowl contests. Now let’s see how many C-USA players stick with NFL teams next season.

Bookman: i rolled with Washington this week. It seems im all in on them this week. I have Cousins at qb in 2 FFB leagues(both consolation) , i have their DST in one so WTF go hard or go home.. or should that be go home to go hard ?? I am also rolling with Moore in my $$ league final. Playing against the wife so its a win win anyway

And further to the broken snowblower…. we are expecting a foot of snow and blizzard conditions starting Xmas afternoon.. have not seen a new blower under the tree… 😢